The public comment period concerning a draft air permit for a proposed municipal solid waste gasification plant in Cleveland has been extended to July 1, 2013.

After receiving requests from the community, Ohio EPA is extending the comment period an additional 12 days to provide citizens more time to comment on the draft permit.

On June 12, Ohio EPA and Cleveland Division of Air Quality (CDAQ) discussed the draft air permit at an information session and public hearing at the Estabrook Recreation Center in Cleveland.

If issued as final, the permit would allow Cleveland Public Power to construct a waste-to-energy facility at 3727 Ridge Road. The facility would house three municipal solid waste gasifier processing lines to produce syngas. The syngas would be burned in a furnace to produce heat, which in turn would be converted to steam in a heat recovery steam generator.

Citizens may submit comments in writing to: Cleveland Division of Air Quality, Attn: David Hearne, 75 Erieview Plaza, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH, 44114. A decision on issuing a final permit will be made after considering all questions and comments submitted by July 1.

Cleveland Public Power’s draft air permit and related information are available online and at CDAQ by calling (216) 664-2297.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. In the past 40 years, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling. Ohio EPA….40 years and moving forward.